Mystery surrounds the death of an internet author who is said to have jumped to his death from a city condo in an argument over a TV star's demise.
Pichitchay Pangtong, 20, a young man of the second gender, died from his injuries after plunging from the condo in soi Lat Phrao 48, Sutthisan district, on March 3 following an argument with a friend over the drowning death of actress Pattarathida "Tangmo" Patcharaveerapong.
The Tangmo saga has captivated the public since her body was found in the Chao Phraya River on Feb 24, with some speculating that her friends on the speedboat on which she was travelling may have had a hand in her death.
Pichitchay, who hailed from Si Sa Ket but lived with an aunt in Taling Chan, was an accomplished author of fiction. He has published on the internet 10 stories about Japanese yaoi (boys' love) and ancient Chinese tales, where he amassed some 500,000 followers under his pen name Nang Lorm.
He believed he knew who was behind her death, according to a friend who was in the same unit as Pichitchay when the tragedy occurred but says he did not see him jump.
Witthaya Changsalak, 30, whom the young author had visited that day at his condo, said the pair took crystal methamphetamine (ice) and later argued about the Tangmo case.
Pichitchay, he said, found he was losing the argument and in a drugs-fuelled rage started smashing up his condo.
"I took shelter in the bathroom and when the noise had subsided, came out. I decided I should offer to take him for a meal to appease him. However, I found he had jumped from the balcony," Mr Witthaya said. The two met online several months before, he said.
Police called to the scene found the ice and drug-taking gear at the condo and arrested him. However, he denies playing any part in the young man's death.
"I think he was hallucinating from the effects of the drugs. I doubt he jumped because he was upset over Tangmo," he said.
"He came around for a meal and we intended to spend a few days together," he added. Police charged him initially with taking ice and having the drugs in his possession.
Reporters travelled to tambon Khun Han, in Si Sa Ket, where they met his mother, Suchitra Ounkaew, 55.
She said she doesn't believe her son killed himself after watching coverage of the Tangmo saga. However, she thought Mr Witthaya looked suspicious, as he was laughing while talking to reporters upon his arrest.
"My son is tough and has been providing for himself since childhood," she said. He had fulfilled his dream of being a published author and his life was going well.
Nichakan Hongsaphan, 26, his elder sister by a different father, said Pichitchay would have told her if he was messing with drugs.
She found out about his death when a friend who saw the news contacted her and asked if it was her brother. She was stunned as the two had chatted on Line only hours before.
Ahead of her brother's funeral, which she helped arrange, she posted to Facebook saying she would bring his favourite food to place in front of Pichitchay's photograph, along with flowers.
"And you promised me we would look after each other," she wrote sadly.
Police are awaiting the results of his autopsy. They say they have not ruled out any motives, including the possibility it was an accident or was pushed.
Teen lays stabbing plot
A 16-year-old boy stabbed a senior at his former Buri Ram school in a row over a double-expulsion triggered by phone use.
Lam Plai Mat police last week caught "B", a fourth form student in Chiang Mai, as he was waiting at a train station following the stabbing, which left "A" with critical injuries.
The boys studied at a well-known boarding school in Buri Ram until B was expelled in a row over phone use, following his friend's own expulsion linked to the same saga.
B, who admitted stabbing the lad, said he sought vengeance after A ratted on his friend, which resulted in his friend being booted from the school. His friend was playing with his smartphone, in contravention of school rules.
When B argued with A over his role in the saga, B was himself expelled. The Manager Online said he returned to his family home in Chiang Mai.
During a school break he returned to Lam Plai Mat to see his friends at the dorm. However, he was seized by a desire for revenge so took a bus into town to buy four knives.
B said he also intended to stab a second boy that day, as he believed two lads including A were involved in telling the teacher about his mate's illicit phone use. However, he was spotted as he was stabbing A in his dorm, and fled the scene on a waiting motorcycle before he could complete the act.
Media images showed medical workers attending to A, bare chested and wearing school shorts. He was lying on his front when B came across him in the dorm and plunged the knife into his back.
B took the 8km journey into Lam Plai Mat to buy four 25cm knives for the double-stabbing, and hired a motorsai for the trip back to the school. He asked the driver for his number and told him to wait. After stabbing A and being spotted in the act, he fled to the local railway station.
Police, on the orders of station head Pol Col Somchai Soponpanyaporn, blocked avenues of escape. B had bought his ticket and was waiting for the next train to see his mother in Udon Thani, with a stop in Nakhon Ratchasima, when the police turned up.
B, who said he acted alone, deliberately left the knife embedded in the A's back as an expression of his anger. A, he claimed, was also playing with his phone but unlike his mate was not thrown out of school.
A was sent to Buri Ram hospital in a serious condition. The Manager said B asked to pass on word of apology to A's family. Police charged him initially with assault causing serious injury.
Angry wife at the wheel
A man blamed his wife after his pickup ran into seven other vehicles in Chon Buri.
Adisak Chokchai, 55, was heading home from work in Bang Lamung district on March 5 when he started to argue with his wife.
She grabbed the steering wheel of his Chevrolet Colorado, he said, and the vehicle ploughed into seven others parked in front of Nangnual Pattaya Seafood, opposite the Floating Market, in Na Jomtien, Sattahip.
His wife, named as "Maem" in news reports, was one of two people injured. Rescue workers sent her to hospital.
Surawut Sangsomwong, 29, the other injured party, who sustained a cut above his left eye and a bloody nose, said he was backing out when he saw Mr Adisak's pickup veering towards him.
"I am lucky I wasn't getting out of my car or he would have cleaned me up," he told reporters, after police invited the motorists to the station to give evidence.
"Even more upsetting, Mr Adisak says he stopped sending car insurance payments last December, so I don't know how he will pay for the damages," he said.
Pattaya police tested Mr Adisak for alcohol, and were waiting to speak to his wife.
Hut saga with a twist
A Buri Ram man has fled to his mother's place after his wife, tired of his drunken ways, stabbed his genitals with a fish-hunting spear.
Buncheuy "Pae" Mooseethon, 45, said his wife stabbed him with a gaff which the couple keeps hanging outside their home -- a dusty hut on the edge of a farm field -- in Lahan Sai district. He went to the local hospital where he needed 17 stitches to repair the damage.
His wife, Chanida Kertram, 45 said her husband turned up drunk on March 3. She had been working all day cutting down sugar cane and was tired.
"He picked a fight as usual and refused to cook the rice as I asked so I grabbed him by the genitals and gave them a twist. He ran off," she said, saying she had been putting up with his drunken antics for their 21 years of marriage.
Mr Pae, however, insisted his wife armed herself with the gaff before attacking his manhood. "She talks too much but I have put up with it. She grabbed the spear and thrust it into my genitals, then twisted it the way you do to make sure the fish does not come free. I cried out in pain and fled to Mum's place," he said.
Reporters visited Mr Pae at his Mum's house at a nearby village, and also spoke to Ms Chanida.
"I am not game to go home as I am worried I will be attacked a second time. I need time to recover and for my wife to cool down," he said. He did not intend taking legal action against his wife as he still loves her as much as ever.
Ms Chanida said her husband was exaggerating. "I just responded after he grabbed me by the throat," she said.
